Russia and US didn't reach agreement on Syrian problem

All learnt about a meeting between the presidents of Russia and the United States only at Vladimir Putin’s final news conference

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On Monday, newspapers continue to comment on a meeting between the presidents of Russia and the United States at the G20 summit last Friday. The presidents also discussed the Syrian problem at the meeting. The sides did not reach a common solution and agreed to continue to discuss the problem at the level of the ministers. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet soon.

The last day of the G20 summit in St. Petersburg ended with the adoption of a declaration of the G20 leaders, the Novye Izvestia daily noted. But the declaration did not become the main event of the summit. Last Friday, the presidents of Russia and the United States had a meeting finally that as it was stated in all previous days was not scheduled, after separate news conferences the leaders of the two countries spelled out their positions on Syria.

All learnt about a meeting between the presidents of Russia and the United States only at Vladimir Putin’s final news conference, the Novye Izvestia daily noted. “This has been a very content-intensive, I would note, constructive, good spirited meeting, anyway, it was held in a friendly atmosphere,” the newspaper quoted Putin as saying. However, Putin noted that he did not agree with US counterpart Barack Obama and vice versa.

If third countries interfere in the Syrian conflict, Russia will help Syria. “We are helping them now,” Putin summed up the results of the G20 summit. “We deliver weapons, cooperate with them in economic sphere. I hope that we will cooperate more actively with them in humanitarian sphere, supporting those people, civilians, who happened to be a very difficult situation in that country now,” Putin said.

Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama have not agreed on Syria either at a dinner or on the sidelines of the G20 summit, the RBC daily noted. The US president returned to the homeland, gaining the support of 11 countries, including Germany. But before bombing Syria Europe wants to be sure that Bashar Assad’s government used chemical weapons. A report of the experts may be made public at the end of September, and the US Congress may take a decision to bomb Syria without a U.N. mandate a day after tomorrow.

The economic agenda of the G20 summit in St. Petersburg got into the background, the newspaper reported. Vladimir Putin included Turkey, Canada, Saudi Arabia, France and British Prime Minister David Cameron in US allies. “German Chancellor Angela Merkel also acts very cautiously. Germany does not intend to participate in any combat actions,” Putin said at a final news conference. He named among supporters of Russia’s position on Syria China, India, Indonesia, Argentina, Brazil, the Republic of South Africa, the Pope and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Without a UN sanction any military interference in Syria is out of law, Putin recalled. This is the only thing that stops several countries from sharing the US position, Barack Obama said at a news briefing.

It was reported several hours later that Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey, Great Britain, which are prepared to bomb Syria without a mandate of the UN Security Council, signed the US statement. Germany joined them already upon the end of the G20 summit. The country gives only moral support to ‘the US decisive actions’ so far.